Liam Plunkett will fly over 12,000 miles from the Caribbean to join the England squad in Australia. Photograph: David Davies/PA

The field hospital that is also known as the England dressing room will welcome Liam Plunkett back this week as Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Tremlett await further injury bulletins. The last days of England's protracted tour of Australia are beginning to resemble an episode of MASH though with fewer laughs.

Shahzad and Tremlett will have scans on an injured hamstring and side strain tomorrow. Shahzad, who is a member of England's World Cup squad, has potentially the more serious injury. He was not able to bowl his last two overs in Sunday's defeat in Brisbane and later batted with a runner as Australia took a decisive 4-1 lead in the series. Tremlett is not in the party for the subcontinent but given England's lengthening casualty list he soon will be, so his welfare is causing just as much concern.

Tim Bresnan (calf) and Graeme Swann (back and knee) are already back in England fighting to be fit in time for the start of the World Cup on 19 February. The 25-year-old Plunkett is flying in from St Kitts in the Caribbean, where he has been on duty with the England Lions.

He will arrive in Perth on Wednesday and meet up with the players the following day. But he will have been on four flights and travelled over 12,000 miles and it is hard to see what state he will be in to play in the final match of the tour in Perth on Sunday even if he wakes up. He played the last of his nine Tests in the summer of 2007 but his last ODI came as recently as March last year, when he played against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

Meanwhile, Stuart Broad has been crocked for such a long time that everybody has almost forgotten about him. He is with the party as he recovers from a serious abdominal strain but will take no part in the current ODI series. Broad, it must be remembered, was the next big thing in the England team – until even bigger things came along in Steve Finn and Tremlett, at least physically.

Broad played in only two Ashes Tests, and finished bottom of both the batting and bowling averages (no runs, and two wickets at 80.50 each) and it may be thought by some that his impact on the series was negligible. It was nothing of the sort. He played a big part in the softening up of the Australia batsmen, and in particular Michael Clarke, who only showed the first signs of a frail recovery with his fifty in Brisbane on Sunday.

Broad said: "It was frustrating not to pick up more wickets but I felt I bowled pretty well. I went at just about two an over. That happens in cricket and I missed out on three pitches I would probably have quite enjoyed at the end of the series.

"But I've not really looked at the Ashes being those two Tests. I think of the 18 months that built the team to being able to win the series and I felt very much part of the build-up to where the team was and is. I feel part of what happened."

When Broad was forced to return home through injury he was an established member of the side. But now he is realistic enough to appreciate that he could have a fight on to keep his place, certainly at the sharp end of the attack. If everyone is fit at the start of next season Tremlett, because of his greater penetration, would be the favourite to take the new ball with Jimmy Anderson.

Broad said: "You never know what is going to be happening before the first Test next season but Tremlett bowled fantastically well on pitches that really suited him over here and if the first Test was tomorrow he would deserve to take the new ball.

"It doesn't bother me whether I bowl with the new ball or first change. My record is probably better first change, but as a bowler you want the new ball because it is the best time to bowl. But as long as you are in the team and contributing I think everyone is happy."

Broad still remains an integral part of England's World Cup plans but feels he has to prove his fitness before England's campaign gets under way against Holland in Nagpur on 22 February. "Definitely. I'd have to play in one or both of the warm-up games to feel match ready. That's why I've come out here to make sure my training is at a peak to give me every opportunity for that. But I need to make sure the medical staff say it's 100% right to play in both."

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